Electric motors (e.g., induction and synchronous motors) typically include a stator and a rotor. The stator is mounted inside a housing and the rotor is received within the stator. The stator is connected to a power source, which can provide an alternating current to the stator to produce electromagnetic fields that drive rotation of the rotor relative to the stator.
In many stator designs (and electrical machine designs, generally) multiple electrical wires must be connected to a power source. Sensors, if present in the system, may need to be connected to control wires that communicate with equipment external from the electric machine. In order to make the necessary connections to external cables and decrease manufacturing complications, terminal boards have been used.
Terminal boards provide a series of electrically-conducting terminals that can receive multiple individual wires at a common terminal. When multiple wires are coupled to a common, electrically-conducting terminal, the wires are in electrical communication with one another. Terminal boards of this type have reduced the complexity and labor costs associated with installing and assembling electrical machines, as electrical connections between multiple wires can be created without placing each individual electrical wire in direct physical contact with another electrical wire.
Terminal boards have also been used to create electrical connections to motor stators. Simultaneously, the terminal board can act as a seal to the motor cavity. Wires leading from the stator and other equipment within the motor cavity are coupled to terminals extending from the terminal board inward toward the motor cavity. The exterior power source can be connected to common terminals that extend outward from the terminal board away from the motor cavity, which places the stator in electrical communication with the power source while sealing the motor cavity.
Traditionally, vertical terminal boards have been used to connect wires to the terminal boards. Electrical wires running vertically (e.g., parallel to the direction of the terminals) toward the terminals on a vertical terminal board must be bent in order to make adequate connections with the terminals. Bending wires increases the likelihood that a bad connection will be made, which can negatively impact operation of the electric machine. The vertical terminal boards also make electrical machines more difficult to assemble and disassemble, which can increase maintenance and labor costs.